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Schools

We'd like a later start to school year

A Times poll shows most Floridians would prefer to back up the start of school to late August or after Labor Day.

By MELANIE AVE
Published April 1, 2006

If you think the school year is starting earlier and earlier, you're right.

Florida districts have been inching back school starting dates since students began taking the FCAT eight years ago. In 1998, only 8 percent of districts began classes the first week of August. This year, 36 percent took advantage of such an early start.

Some counties, such as Seminole County, will begin in July this fall.

"I just think that's crazy," said Hillsborough County parent Paul Fraleigh, who has children in elementary, middle and high school. A new St. Petersburg Times poll shows Fraleigh's opinion is widely shared.

A large majority of Florida residents - 68 percent - want the school year to start in late August to early September, according to the statewide telephone survey of 872 adults. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Forty-five percent said they think the school year should begin after Labor Day in early September while 23 percent said they prefer late August. Another 23 percent said early August works best.

"It just seems the summer is getting shorter and shorter," said Kim Rosati, a 39-year-old Kissimmee mother who says she wishes the school year started closer to Labor Day, the traditional end of summer.

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said many school districts are starting earlier to give their students more time to prepare for the high-stakes Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which is used to reward or penalize schools.

Some districts also bumped up their start dates to allow students to complete first semester exams before the long winter break and to accommodate students enrolled in college courses.

But Gelber said districts seem to be trying to leapfrog one another by starting earlier, likely to get an edge on the FCAT, which is given in February and March.

He said research has not proven that earlier start dates result in higher FCAT achievement.

"So why are we doing it?" said Gelber, who is sponsoring a bill that would forbid schools from opening earlier than a week before Labor Day. "We are out of sync with the rest of the country."

The state House of Representatives has approved a modified version of the bill that would require school boards to start the school year no earlier than seven days before Labor Day. Boards can move the start date to Aug. 8, but only by a two-thirds vote and after a public hearing.

Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said the push to start the school year later is backed primarily by tourist-driven businesses, which want to keep their teenage workers for as long as they can.

"I think parents have mixed feelings," said Lynn, who chairs the Senate's education committee.

But the Times poll indicates otherwise, with seven of every 10 adults saying they like later start dates. That preference was shared by those with school-aged children and those with no kids.

Pinellas County School Board member Jane Gallucci questioned the fairness of the poll. She said the results would have been different if parents were asked if they support later start dates even if students have to take semester exams in January or have less time to prepare for the FCAT.

Gallucci said she hasn't heard an outcry from parents wanting the school year to start later.

"I'm not sure people are really considering what's best for students," said Gallucci, who will soon become the president of the National School Boards Association.

The poll results were consistent regardless of political party, race or place of residence. Older Floridians were the most likely to prefer later start dates.

Hillsborough County School Board member Jack Lamb said nostalgia seems to play a big part in the desire of many people to marry starting dates to Labor Day.

"People tend to like things the way they were," he said.

Parent Brian Farley of Dunnellon said he prefers a later start date because that's what he remembers from his own school years.

"It was the perfect time," Farley said.

The poll results echo those of another survey recently commissioned by Save Our Summers, a grass roots South Florida group. It showed that 74 percent of Florida voters support a uniform school start date in late August. Only 7 percent opposed it.

Sherry Sturner, a mother of two who lives in North Miami Beach, founded the Save Our Summers organization in August.

"I was just really frustrated," she said. "I just couldn't fathom a reason why we were starting that early. The more I researched it the more I saw there was no reason for it."

This school year parents helped persuade the Miami-Dade and Broward school districts to start the year in mid August instead of earlier in the month.

Florida lawmakers are not alone in trying to take control of the school calendar. Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee also are considering measures to keep starting dates near Labor Day. In recent years, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas approved similar laws.

Many educators oppose the legislation because it erodes local control.

"I don't think we need a school board in the sky," said Lamb, president of the Florida School Boards Association. "It's a local issue."

Times staff writer Donna Winchester and researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Melanie Ave can be reached at 813 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 1, 2006, 00:56:12]